I feel like almost unanimously there is the held opinion that the first Saw film is a very solid thriller that perfectly builds a mythology within its running time, to create a deftly unsettling world with interesting characters and a killer twist. Moving on from there the series repeatedly found itself ludicrously attempting new twist after new twist until the plot and timeline became that of a repeatedly inverted mess. Spiral in many ways attempts to return to the first films simplicity, however goes about this task without an inch of the cleverness, the subtlety and frankly without any of the charm, despite Chris Rock's repeated attempts to mount a charm and humour based offensive.

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Whereas previous Saw films have achieved some brand of absurdity in their premises and garnered an enjoyment as aforementioned from me, Spiral really was just painfully dull. In a bizarre turn of events it seems painfully clear that in attempting to make a better entry with more of a focus on social politics and character, Spiral swiftly becomes one of the more duller entries the series has ever had – and by that logic, frankly one of the worst. The film is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who has directed multiple of the previous Saw movies, but here relies so frequently on horrible cringe-inducing montages to emphasise emotion and horror, rather than actually showing us anything effecting or scary. To put it plainly, albeit I feel I already have to some extent, the film is just a painfully dull and intensely predictable slog through twists and turns that one can see a mile off. All of these reveals are attempted to be covered up by performances aiming to be entertaining and villainous, none of them achieve either. I guess that’s too strong. The film does boast enjoyable turns from both Chris Rock and Samuel L Jackson, with both of them able to return to the pulpier work that gave them their early starts. But whereas Jackson does give us a nice bit of weight in the more dramatic scenes, Rock really does miss the mark and seemingly has no aptitude for the more serious aspects of the film. Max Minghella is perfectly fine as our bashful rookie, but when his character shifts later in the film, he falls between two stools in his performance. Not exactly giving us anything over-exaggerated enough to be enjoyable, neither giving us anything measured enough to be effecting either.

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The core of all the Saw films is of course the traps, and while I have never been overly fond of the dependence on gore and gizzards that the series depends upon, I can see the joy for a fan in the increasingly extreme nature of these traps over the films, but also find no joy or horror or tension there myself. However Spiral doesn’t even give us the joy of the mind games that some of the previous traps have done. For me the traps in this film simply didn’t work on the basis that none of them actually had the choice of life it seems, the crux of all the devices prior. I can’t speculate with any authority on the nature and origin of Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger’s script, nor its supposed Chris Rock polish, but one immediately gets the sense of the script being an amalgam of multiple different projects, whether it be a serial killer plot with a Saw influence, reconstructed to be a Saw film, or whether it be the grittier police drama film with a subtext of commentary surrounding police corruption. Either way the overall product is seriously that of a big boring mess, with very little of interest to keep the attention of a viewer. The Saw fan hive may appreciate the film, but in many ways I feel that they too will grow weary of this tired re-tread of previous ideas done better earlier in the series by more skilled performers, directors and writers.

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An absolutely tediously dull 2/10, so painfully boring in spite of everything they do attempt to throw into the mix, whether it be increasingly stupid traps, illogical plot mechanics and seriously over-the-top performances and shoddy dialogue. Rock seems to be on a one man mission to not only diversify his career but also return a series filled with ridiculous cr*p to a more bare-bones approach, leading to possible critical acclaim – unfortunately Spiral is certainly not the film to do so.

P.S. The Saw theme is still an absolute banger to use the parlance of the youth of today, which it may not seem to be the case, I am actually a part of. Inching ever closer to adulthood. I genuinely wonder how many Saw films I will see in my lifetime. At this current state of things, 30 does no longer seem to be an absurd number. Hopefully a return to absurd convolution to achieve plot twists will return if this Spiral receives a sequel and if this series receives another entry From the Book of Saw. I guess I should have known from the very start with that subtitle that I was going to be in for a film painfully self-conscious of its reputation, longing at every turn to remove itself from the fold of the series.

-         - Thomas Carruthers